“keen” on quinoa: breakfast cookies

The promise of a healthy, portable meal – in cookie form? Yes, please.

But if you’ve ever sampled one – or (like me), tried to make a batch at home – you’ve found that the results are almost always disappointing. Large-as-a-plate, dry-as-a-rock, you know. I’d long since given up on nailing this elusive baked good until I came across a recipe from Jenny (remember her?) in Bon Appetit. And since Jenny ranks high on my list of cooks-I-trust (what’s with all the hyphens-in-this-post???), I knew I’d be in good hands.

Allow me to introduce THE best breakfast cookie you’ll ever eat!

Seriously – they’re all the things:

Easy.

Versatile.

Delicious.

Moist, flavorful and chewy, these not-too-sweet cookies are my go-to mid-morning snack (I’m just going with the hyphen thing at this point). And they keep really well too – more than a week on my counter in an airtight container.

And they use quinoa! Cooked, no less!

Give these a try and let me know what you think – I’m going to swap the almonds and cranberries for chopped pistachios and dried cherries next time………

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and extracts; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add both flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat on low speed till combined. Add quinoa, oats, cranberries and almonds and beat on low for a few seconds, till just combined.

Bake cookies until golden, 12–15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container (layers separated by wax paper) at room temperature for up to one week; freeze for longer storage.

Note: A reader just checked in to report that she substituted the flours used above with an equal amount of Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, with great success!